Monday

Today we are going hiking and tomorrow we are going lawn mowing.  Today I have been assigned to blog about something in the newspaper.  I am going to write about the windmill.

From the September 25, 2010 Daily Record I read "Opinions differ widely" about Kittitas valley wind farms.

Some people are happy about the windmills and some people aren't.  One lady named Joan Neslund says that she is a fan of the windmills.  She says that they send a positive message to people coming through Ellensburg . She says "People see the wind farms, the green parks, and the solar project and must think Ellensburg is a great place."   Another lady named Teri Bentz doesn't like the windmills at all. She lives north of Ellensburg. Though she can see them driving to and from her house, she can't see the windmills from her house.  She says that there must have been a better place to put them, and she also says that she gets angry when she sees them (a little whiny if you ask me.)

I am studying about early Ellensburg.  A century ago coal was the main energy source in Ellensburg.  Coal was dirty, it polluted the atmosphere, it was dangerous to get, it wasn't nearly as efficient as a windmill.  The windmills show how far we have come from using coal for everything.

Photo taken of Roslyn coal mine explosion.  ca. 1909

Wild horse wind farm, Kittitas valley, current day.